UCLA in the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription. See more UCLA in the News.
L.A. planning crackdown on street racing | Los Angeles Times
UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said the constitutionality of a law criminalizing the online promotion of illegal racing events would hinge on the specificity of the speech in question. If someone were to put up an Instagram post saying, for example, that illegal street racing is great and everyone should break the law and do it, that would be constitutionally protected speech, he said.
Why a new handbag won’t make you happier | KCRW-FM’s “Greater L.A.”
People consume so much partly because of competitive consumption, explains Omar Lizardo, a professor of sociology at UCLA: “You see your neighbor buy a new car or buy a new gadget, and then you want to have it.” He adds that it is a way of signaling status. But the inverse can also be true. People buy something to be different from others, including those who can’t appreciate it in the same way or who can’t afford it, Lizardo explains.
Have ‘sexy’ Halloween costumes gone too far? | USA Today
“It’s a sad irony that the one day of the year when people are free to play and experiment and explore ways of being outside of the everyday, so many women still feel that they have to dress sexy in order to be interesting or desirable,” says Juliet Williams, a professor of gender studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Ethical guidelines for researchers handling ancient DNA | New York Times
“I was a bit surprised that a meeting like this happened and that I was not invited,” said Nanibaa’ Garrison, a bioethicist and geneticist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who works on the project aDNA Ethics, which is focused on the ethics of studying North American ancient DNA. “They talk about community engagement but fail to engage the community of researchers who have been involved in that space, too.”
New museum captures magic of movies | New York Times
Long a significant part of popular culture, movies became especially important during the early days of the pandemic. “It was a window out into the world while we were sheltering in place,” said Jonathan Kuntz, a lecturer and film historian at the School of Theater, Film and Television at U.C.L.A. “We get a lot of information and distraction from films and documentaries.”
Are conservatives happier than liberals? | New York Times
In “A Neurology of the Conservative–Liberal Dimension of Political Ideology,” Dr. Mario F. Mendez, a professor of neurology at U.C.L.A., argues: High political conservatism is associated with preferences for stability, conformity, tradition, and order and structure. High political liberalism, in contrast, is associated with preferences for creativity, curiosity, novelty-seeking, and new experiences.
How the Dixie fire created its own weather | New York Times
Days after California’s Dixie fire ignited in mid-July, towering storm clouds burst from the flames, generating lightning and wild winds that pushed the fire “in every direction,” according to firefighters battling the blaze. (UCLA’s Daniel Swain is cited as an expert source.)
L.A. homeless helping peers get vaccinated | KQED-FM’s “The California Report”
“We know from other types of public health that people tend to trust folks from their own community when making a highly personal decision, such as getting the COVID vaccine. And the idea with this program that we started is basically to have a very low-barrier way for people who have already been vaccinated to engage their community,” said UCLA’s Chelsea Shover.
Some breast cancer survivors happier than ever post-mastectomy | Yahoo Life
“I think a combination of holdover paternalism in medicine and just the assumption (based on societal expectations) that a woman would want to maintain her appearance is why physicians sometimes do not offer going flat,” Dr. Deanna Attai, a breast surgeon and professor with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Health Burbank Breast Care, tells Yahoo Life.
Vegan pet food as healthy for cats, dogs as meat | Guardian
According to the market research firm Mintel 34% of dog owners are interested in regularly feeding their dogs plant-based foods … This reflected a growing interest in sustainable living, since according to a UCLA study, pet food generated about 25% of the environmental damage associated with the meat industry, equivalent to 64m tons of carbon dioxide a year, or having the same climate impact as a year’s worth of driving from 13.6m cars.
Despite findings, doubts linger about gut microbes’ role in autism | Spectrum
On top of the potential data-analysis issues, many experts remained unconvinced that the mechanisms operating in mice are relevant to people … And mice do not have autism. “Defining autism in a mouse or rat seems quite difficult,” says Catherine Lord, distinguished professor of psychiatry and education at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Storms to bring welcome rain, snow to California | Washington Post
Given all of the precipitation forecast over the next week, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles, tweeted that he’s “increasingly convinced” it will mark the end of fire season from Interstate 80 northward, which runs through the San Francisco Bay area and Sacramento.
When can we start enjoying nightlife again? | Vox
“In [Provincetown, Massachusetts], I think that there was a community of gay men who understand the importance of contact tracing,” Pamina Gorbach, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA who has an expertise in HIV. Gorbach explained that in the absence of tools and structural support, the gay male community had to come together to protect one another.